Pardon me for being fascinated about the contract situation still lingering between the Saints and quarterback Drew Brees. But it’s been more than eight weeks since the team’s season ended, and the exclusive negotiating period for what would be the latest contract between the two sides has officially expired.
As of 12:00 p.m. ET, any other team can call agent Tom Condon in order to negotiate a contract with Brees. Teams and agents are permitted to reach a verbal agreement, with the final deal being executed on or after Wednesday at 4:00 p.m. ET.
Any team interested in a quarterback should at least be kicking the tires on a first-ballot Hall of Famer who still has at least a year or two of gas in the tank. Teams looking to win now (like the Vikings and Broncos) should be the most interested.
Or maybe they believe what Brees and the Saints have said -- that Brees is going nowhere. Why become the leverage for his new contract, especially if that also will lead to a rash of reports regarding the failed effort to make Brees a team’s Plan A, necessarily making everyone else at best a Plan B?
For that reason, teams interested in Brees may insist on secrecy, with nothing at all being said about the pursuit unless and until a deal is done. Even then, it would make sense to keep the news under wraps until the contract is signed. Since nothing can be finalized for two days, the Saints could decide to pull out all the stops if/when another team sufficiently exceeds the best offer New Orleans makes, and Brees tentatively accepts the terms tendered by another team.
However it plays out, it make sense for any team looking for a quarterback to at least make a call. It makes particular sense for the Vikings; if they’re thinking of giving big money to Kirk Cousins, why not give it to a guy who may be much better suited to immediately take the Vikings to the place they’re been trying to return for 42 years?